James g



(No Model.)

J; G. TWISS. FOLDING BEDSTEAD.

No. 371,232. Patented Oct. l1, 1887.

W s r i. i

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES G. TISS, OF N EW' YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELE AND CHARLES H. BROWNE, OF SAME DLACE.

FoLnlNeBEDsTE/m.

- SPECIFICATION forming part o Letters Patent No. 371,232, dated October 11, 1887.

Application filed December 3U, 1886. Serial No. 9.22.5363. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMEs G. Twiss, ofthe city and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Folding Bedsteads, of which 5 the following is a specification.

Wardrobe or folding bedsteads have heretofore been made with the side rails pivoted to the uprights or ends of the wardrobe ease, and a weight has been tted to slide vertically and act as a counterpoise or partial counterpoise to the bedstead, to lessen the force required in folding up the bedstead.

My present invention relates to this class of wardrobe-bedstead; and it consists in the coinbination, with the wardrobe and the pivoted side rails, of a sliding weighted head-board and brackets extending out from the saine and resting upon studs or rollers upon the side rails, the parts being constructed. and placed in such a manner that theleverage of the bedstead when turned down will be sufficient to sustain the weighted head-board; but when the bedstead is turned up into the wardrobecase the weight of the head-hoard has a leverage against the bedstead and holds the same up in its folded position.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section showing the wardrobe with the bedstead in its folded position, and the position of the' 3o parts when the bedstead is turned down is indicated by dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view at the line x with the bedstead turned down.

The wardrobe-case is of suitable size and shape. The ends A are connected by sill-pieces B,which rest upon the floor, and casters or legs may be provided, if desired, and it is prefer able to make use of the crossbars D at the back t0 unite the ends A together.

The side rails, E, of the bedstead are pivoted at F to the ends of the wardrobe, and these side rails are connected together and closed in with doors or panels G, which form the face of the wardrobe when the bedstead is closed. I prefer to make the foot board C ornamental to forni the head of the wardrobe or case, and to make use of drawers H in the base of t-he wardrobe beneath the doors G. The side rails, E, are notched at their inner ends behind and 5o above the pivots F, so that when the bedstead is folded the inner ends of the side rails pass down behind thedrawers H.

The head-board K is of any desired character and more or less ornamented. Its edges are fitted to slide in grooves at 3 in the inner surfaces 55 ot' the wardrobe ends, and there are rollers 4 upon the back surfaces of the head-board, which rollers run against rails 5 upon the front of the back Hanges, so that this head-board can slide up or down freely. Usually a weight, L, is at- 6o tached to the lower part of the headboard to. make such head-board suiiicently heavy to form the counterpoise. The brackets N are fastened to the front of the head-board near the edges thereof and `just within the ends of the wardrobe, and they rest upon the studs or rollers P upon the outer surfaces of the side rails, E, near the back ends thereof. The under surfaces of these brackets N may be level or sl'ightl y inclined backwardly and upwardly, 7o as indicated by dotted lines, Fig. 1.

It will now be understood that the studs or rollers P describe arcs of circles as the h'ed is swung up or down upon the pivots F, and that when the bed is unfolded the horizontal distance between the pivots E and perpendiculars dropped from the studs P will be less than the length of the radius of the are;` hence thebedstead when unfolded will remain firmly in its position and not be raised by. the weighted So headboard resting upon what becomes the short arm of the lever. As the bedstead is raised andthe studs P brought nearer into a horizontal line with the pivots F, the leverage or force exerted by the weighted head-board Y increases, and as the bedstead is raised toward a vertical position and its weight is more fully carried by the pivots F, the power required to lift it decreases and the weight of the headboard becomes more efficient as the bedstead is 9o lifted, and the weight required to sustain the bedstead lessens as such bedstead approaches a vertical position; hence the weighted headboard will be suflicient to sustain the bedstead in an upright position when' folded up as a 95 wardrobe, and the parts are to be so proportioned that but little power is required for swinging the bedstead up or down.

Vhen desired, helical springs can 'be made use of inside the wardrobe, and connected at Ioo their lower ends near the outer ends of the bracket N andV at their upper ends with the inner sides A of the wardrobe, so as to aid in pressing down the brackets upon the studs, and thereby render it unnecessary to make use of so much weight in the head-board.

Theranges 6 should be secured in place by screws to allow for removing the same to separate the headboard for transportation. The upperepart ofthe head-board may be a iXture to strengthen the wardrobe-caserllhe side pieces, A, that receive the pivots F, should be secured by screws to facilitate separation for removal.

I am aware that a bedstead has been pivoted near one end 'to swing up verticallyinto a case, and that the head-board has formed the back of the case and also a partial counterpoise to the bedstead; but the connection has been by segmental toothed racks, which are liable to in j ure the bedcoverings, which is not the ease in my improvements, where the projecting brackets rest upon studs sliding beneath them as the bed is folded and unfolded.

I claim as my inventionl. The combinatiomwiththe wardrobe-case and the bedstead having side rails and pivots connecting the same to the case, of studs or rollers P near the inner ends of and secured to the side rails, the vertical weighted head-board K, sliding in grooves in the sides of the wardrobe-case, and the Vseparate brackets N, secured to and extending out from the head-board at each side and resting upon the studs P, whereby the weighted headboard moves vertically and the studs or rollers P move against the Hat under face of the brackets N as the bed is raised and lowered, and the bedstead is not connected directly to the headboard, substantially as specified.

2. The Wardrobecnse A, the side rails, E, pivoted at F to the case, and studs or rollers P near the inner end and secured to the side rails,in combination with the vertical weighted head-board K and brackets N, projecting from said head-board and resting upon the studs P, the upright flanges 6, connected to the wardrobe-case, and the rails 5 upon their inner faoe, and the rollers 4 upon the back of the headboard K and running upon the rails 5, there being vertical grooves in the case for the headboard to slide in, substantially as speeied.

Signed by me this 24th day of December, 1886.

JAMES G. TWISS.

Witnesses: Y

' GEO. T. PINCKNEY, WILLIAM G. Morir. 

